Trio and whanau ready for event
Rachel Rae, Hiria Tamarapa and Hannah Ngarewa-Packer are dedicated members of IronMaori Whanau ki South Taranaki.
They are training together in preparation for the 1/4 IronMaori triathlon, individual, being held in Napier on November 5. They are part of a group of 65 people, the largest delegation travelling from South Taranaki to participate.
‘‘I am nervous and excited all at once,’’ said Tamarapa. ‘‘It’s the first time I’ve ever participated in 1/4 IronMaori and the first time I’ve ever really done something like this for myself. I’m normally on the sideline supporting others.’’
Rae’s husband and children are going to Napier to support her.
‘‘That means the world to me. As a working mother trying to train, look after your children, do their sports, support my marae and iwi, it gets tough. Thanks to my husband and parents I’ve had awesome support. I could never have trained and changed my whole lifestyle, including losing weight, without our awesome voluntary instructors and my whanau. I’m so grateful.’’
Ngarewa-Packer can’t believe how far they’ve come.
‘‘I couldn’t swim and definitely never got on a bike. Now I’m doing both before a run, thanks to the amazing support at the gym. Life’s busy as a young mum of two under three years. It’s bizarre amongst all that sweat, spin classes, swim squad, balancing babies and a partner I found myself. It’s been the catalyst of so much positive change and I know the start of a new exciting training and lifestyle journey’’.
All women credit the support of group training with IronMaori Ki Whanau.
IronMaori Ki Hawera Whanau Training and Support was formed to create a familybased, non-judgmental environment to support all levels, sizes and ages. Each member is supported in achieving their own goals while aiming for events such as IronMaori Taranaki and other sporting events. Now they are sharing their stories to inspire others to get fit. ‘‘I am nervous and excited all at once.’’ Hiria Tamarapa